The Steelers score and take a lead, or get back into striking distance to make it a game. The stadium crowd is rocking, you have probably spilled your snacks jumping off the couch at home, and somewhere in the house, a spouse or child is irritated at all the noise coming from the living room.

Then, on the ensuing kick off, the team orders Boswell to kick it short. The returner hits a seam, and the ball is almost to mid-field. The energy in the stadium dissipates into silence, the team goes flat, and your celebration turns to frustration as the opposition is almost in field goal range to start the drive. The only one happy is the family dog hoovering up all the popcorn off the floor.

The kick-off rule change this year is going to bring some drama back to the game. Any members of Steeler Nation that are wearing a heart monitor will need to unplug it for returns, or you might get some false readings.The Steelers promptly signed Cordarrelle Patterson as that news was released, and everyone was excited about his potential to bring big returns to the team. Count me in as well, as it’s been a long, long time since the team has had a legitimate threat to take one to the house. But, almost immediately, I started thinking about the flip side of what that meant for Danny Smith’s kick coverage unit. Here’s a brief recap that just covers where the ball lands:

LANDING ZONE

Landing zone is the area between the receiving team’s goal line and its 20-yard line.
Any kick that hits short of the landing zone – treated like kickoff out of bounds and ball spotted at 40 yard line; play would be blown dead as soon as kick lands short of the landing zone
Any kick that hits in the landing zone – must be returned
Any kick that hits in the landing zone and then goes into the end zone – must be returned or downed by receiving team – if downed then touchback to 20 yard line
Kick hits in end zone, stays inbounds – returned or downed – if downed then touchback to 30 yard line
Any kick that goes out of the back of the end zone (in the air or bounces) – touchback to 30 yard line

It’s a lot to think about, when most players and coaches still express surprise at the overtime rules whenever that situation arises. Looking back at last year, Chris Boswell had 76 kickoffs, with 55 of those being touchbacks. Of the 21 times it did not go into the end zone, it was returned 18 times. The result? Pittsburgh gave up an average of 26.4 yards a return, 6th worst in the league. That’s not great. The hidden yardage of returns against the Steelers might just become a very visible issue in 2024.

The recent departure of Miles Boykin made me wonder about just how many special teams snaps the team has lost this offseason. Miles had the third most snaps, James Pierre had the fifth most, and Chandon Sullivan had the seventh most. That’s quite the special teams workload to replace. Boykin and Pierre being the gunners on punts makes it even more important.

Looking into results, Pierre had seven special teams tackles. Boykin had five tackles. I was not able to find a break out of Chandon Sullivan that showed his special teams tackles compared to his defensive snaps. I thought briefly of watching all the games again, but decided I could not put myself through that for a third time. Nick Herberg and Rodney Williams each had six special teams tackles.

It’s probably safe to assume that there will be far more than 18 kick return attempts this season. Pittsburgh seems to be building an offense based on a big boy run game and dominating the time of possession. That is a good thing, considering the age and depth on the  defensive line. That unit is thin, and being rested and ready will go a long way in helping Cam Heyward and company down the stretch. Producing wins using the time of possession strategy comes down to two things: long drives must result in touchdowns, and the defense can’t give up quick scores. Touchdowns mean more kickoffs, and more kickoff returns means a greater chance of the defense already defending on the wrong side of the field.

So even though Boykin, Pierre, and Sullivan weren’t major producers for offense or defense, their presence will be missed on special teams. Perhaps guys like Darius Rush or Dez Fitzpatrick might find a helmet on game day taking up the slack and get those returns stopped before they even get started. Those kickoff return tackles might end up being the difference in the games this year.